Dispute a Content ID claim

If you get a Content ID claim on your video that you believe is wrong, you can dispute the claim. When you dispute a Content ID claim, the copyright owner will be notified and they'll have 30 days to respond.

If you received a copyright strike, use the process outlined in our copyright strike basics, instead of the one described in this article.

You can dispute a Content ID claim if you believe the system misidentified your video, or if you have all the rights to use that copyright-protected content.

File a dispute

What to know before you dispute: Make sure you understand how fair use and the public domain work before you choose to dispute for either of those reasons. YouTube can’t help you determine whether you should dispute a claim. You may want to seek your own legal advice if you’re not sure what to do.

Disputes are only intended for cases where you have all the necessary rights to the content in your video. Repeated or malicious abuse of the dispute process can result in penalties against your video or channel.

After you submit your dispute, the copyright owner has 30 days to respond. During this time, the claim may be temporarily released. If they don’t respond within 30 days, their claim on your video will expire, and you don’t need to do anything.

There are a few things that the copyright owner can do after you dispute:

Release the claim: If they agree with your dispute, they can release their claim. If you were previously monetizing the video, your monetization settings will be restored automatically when all claims on your video are released.

Uphold the claim: If they believe their claim is still valid, they can uphold it. If you feel it was mistakenly upheld, you may be able to appeal their decision.

Take down your video: They can submit a copyright takedown request to remove your video from YouTube, which means you’ll get a copyright strike on your account.

If the policy is set to block (don't allow users to view the video on YouTube) or track (allow users to view the video without advertisements), this policy may be temporarily lifted until your dispute is resolved. During this time, your video cannot be monetized. Learn more about policy and claim basics.

File an appeal

If you’ve already disputed a Content ID claim and feel it was mistakenly upheld by the copyright owner, you can appeal their decision.

In the same place in your Video Manager where you disputed the claim, you may now see the option to appeal.

There might be restrictions that affect your ability to appeal, such as the age of your account. You’ll also need to verify your account if you haven’t already done so. Check your channel's ability to appeal rejected disputes on your account features page.

After you appeal a rejected dispute, the copyright owner has 30 days to respond. There are a few things the copyright owner can do after you appeal:

Do nothing, let the claim expire: If they don’t respond within 30 days, their claim on your video will expire, and you don’t need to do anything.

Release the claim: If the copyright owner agrees with your appeal, they can release their claim, and you don’t need to do anything.

Request immediate removal of your video: They may issue a copyright takedown request against your video if they believe their claim is still valid. This means you’ll get a copyright strike on your account. If you still believe that you have the rights to the content, you can submit a counter notification at this point.

Schedule a takedown request for your video: If the copyright owner issues a delayed copyright takedown request, you can cancel your appeal within 7 days, which prevents the takedown and keeps the claim active on your video.

If you change your mind, you can take back your appeal after you’ve submitted it. Click cancel appeal on the page where you disputed the claim. Keep in mind, once you cancel, you won't be able to appeal the claim again.

If you have monetization enabled on your video and the Content ID claimant wishes to monetize their claim on video as well, we'll continue to show ads on your video until the entire dispute process has come to a conclusion. Learn more about monetization during a Content ID dispute.